Wire support bracket



Aug. 30, 1966 J. A. GRAPPO WIRE SUPPORT BRACKET Filed June 18, 1964 INVENTOR. James A Gra Z4 4l- BY PP@ WW M AT RNEY.

United .States Patent() r 3,269,679 Patented August 30, 1966 This invention relates to apparatus for securing an incoming electric service line to a sloping roof surface or the like and more particularly to a device known as a wire support bracket which is adapted to secure such service lines in a generally fixed relationship with respect to a building roof.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a simple, eflicient and practical wire support bracket.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a wire support bracket that may be easily installed by workmen on a sloping roof of a building, such as a dwelling house.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a wire support bracket that may be conveniently secured in position about one of the rafters in the roof structure of the building on which it is positioned.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a wire support bracket which may be inexpensively formed of easily-fabricated materials and which may be distributed at low cost.

The problem of securing service lines, such as power lines and telephone lines, to buildings and particularly dwelling houses has been present for a considerable time, and the problem has been aggravated by the wide popularity of one-story houses, such as ranch houses and the like wherein the side walls of the building are relatively low and therefore not satisfactory for attaching the service lines.

The various electric power companies generally prefer that their service lines be run in at a relatively safe height above the ground and on such one-story houses this `requires that they be attached to the gables or the roof of the houses so that they will be at an adequate elevation. The problem of attaching such service lines to dwelling houses therefore presents the necessity of designing a device that can be securely attached to a dwelling house and particularly to a structural portion thereof so that the service lines will be adequately held thereby.

The present invention relates to a wire support bracket which will mount on the pitched roof of a dwelling house and engage one of the rafters therebeneath so as to securely and positively hold the service line which is connected thereto and supported thereby.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen =for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE l is a cross sectional schematic elevation of a portion of a dwelling house including one of the rafters and illustrating the wire support bracket installed thereon and a power line supported thereby.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the portion of the dwelling house seen in FIGURE l with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the improved wire support bracket.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view thereof. FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view thereof. By referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, it

will -be seen that a portion of a dwelling house of frame construction has been illustrated with parts broken away and parts in cross section and comprises an uppermost portion of the wall studding or framing 10, including the plate 11 and ceiling joist 12. As customary in such constructions, rafters 13 are carried on the ends of the joist 12 so as to be supported by the studding 10 and plate 11, and the ends of the rafters are finished with fascia board 14 to which the eave spout 15 is customarily attached.

Sheathing or roof boards 16 are applied to the rafters 13 and shingles 17 are positioned thereover all as known in the art.

In FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings, a wire support or service bracket comprising an elongated U-bolt like body member 18 having the connecting portion thereof and the immediately adjacent portions of the body -member 18 bent at an angle of substantially 45 provides a loop-like end 19 to which an electric service line or the like may be conveniently attached. The spaced parallel longitudinally extending arms of the U-shaped body member 18 are threaded inwardly from the bent portion and continuously through their lfree ends 20 and 21, as may be seen by referring to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings. The threaded areas are indicated by the reference numerals 22, 22, and two pairs of washers 23, 23 and 24, 24 are positioned on the elongated threaded arms of the `member 18, and two pairs of nuts 25, 25 and 26, 26 are positioned thereon, together with a pair of apertured plates 27 and 28 and an apertured flexible gasket 29.

As seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the elongated arms of the U-bolt like body member 18 of the service bracket have been positioned through openings in one of the sheathing or roof boards 16 so that that are positioned on opposite sides of a rafter 13. The apertured plate 28 and gasket 29 are arranged adjacent the washers 23 and 24 and the nuts 25 and 26 on the upper end of the device so that they will :be above the sheathing or roof boards 16 and the apertured plate 27 is afiixed to the lower ends of the body member 18 and the washers 23 and 24 and the nuts 25 and 26 applied thereto and tightened so as to move the apertured plate 27 upwardly against the lower edge of the rafter 13 and thereby clampingly secure the service bracket to the rafter and the sheathing or yroof board 16.

It will occur to those skilled in the art that this can be accomplished by lifting up one of the shingles 17 while the installation is made and then slitting the shingle and permitting it to return to position overlying the apertured plate 28 and the gasket 29. If desired, roofing compound can be applied around the fixture so that there is no danger of water leakage. As thus installed, the upper angular loop-like portion 19 of the service bracket will be positioned on a substantially horizontal plane inasmuch as the angular relation of this portion of the device to the elongated arms of the device generally compensates for the pitch of the roof.

As illustrated in FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings, the supporting ground wire 30 is engaged .by a friction clamp 31 to which a supporting extension 32 is attached and which is positioned through the looped end portion 19 of the device and secured, as will be understood by those skilled in the alt. The electrical conductors 33 and 34 are also held lby the friction clip 31 and thus the power line, or other service wires, are suitably supported by the device.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that any other practical and desirable means of attaching the power wires or telephone wires to the service bracket may be utilized and that the service bracket as disclosed herein provides a practical and eicient and structurally strong means of securing such power lines, or telephone lines, to the roof structure of the building concerned.

It will thus be seen that a simple and extremely practical wire support service 'bracket has been disclosed which meets the several objects of the invention and having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A wire support bracket for securing a wire to a roof construction having an elongated rafter-like member therebeneath and comprising an apertured plate engageable with the upper surface of said roof construction and a secondary apertured plate engageable with the lower surface of said rafter-like member, an elongated inverted U-shaped body member having two angularly related substantially planar positions positioned through said apertured plates so that the legs thereof are positioned one on each side of said rafter-like member, fasteners on said elongated U-shaped -body member positioned on the opposite outer sides of said apertured plates arranged to hold said plates on one of said two angularly related substantially planar portions and against said rafter-like member and roof construction, the interconnecting portion of said inverted U-shaped member and the other of said two angularly related substantially planar portions of said U-shaped body member being spaced above said roof construction and forming attachment means for a power line or the like above said roof construction.

2. A service bracket for securing a power line and the like to a roof construction having a rafter-like member thereunder and comprising a rst apertured plate and gasket engageable with the upper surface of said roof construction and a second apertured plate engageable beneath said rafter-like member of said roof construction and an elongated bifurcated member having an interconnecting upper end portion disposed in angular offset relation to the remainder thereof and a lower end portion positioned through the apertures in said plates and gasket with said lower end portions of said bifurcated member straddling said rafter-like member and fasteners secured to said bifurcated member and arranged to move said second apertured plate toward said rst apertured plate and gasket in clamping relation to said roof construction and said rafter-like member.

3. The service bracket set forth in claim 2 and wherein said bifurcated member includes a pair of spaced parallel threaded members and the fasteners comprise nuts threaded thereon.

4. The service bracket set forth in claim 2 and wherein said bifurcated member includes a pair of spaced parallel rod-like members and an interconnecting end portion, said rod-like members having areas threaded inwardly from the interconnecting end portion, said fasteners comprising nuts engaged on said threaded areas.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,437,593 12/1922 Johnston 248-228 X 1,976,595 10/ 1934 Asleson et al 248-228 2,336,144 12/ 1943 Wickstrom 248-205 2,703,688 3/ 1955 Shuter 248-72 3,138,360 6/1964 Matthiesson 248-72 FOREIGN PATENTS 564,765 11/ 1932 Germany. 603,149 9/1934 Germany. 746,731 3/ 1956 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A WIRE SUPPORT BRACKET SECURING A WIRE TO A ROOF CONSTRUCTION HAVING AN ELONGATED RAFTER-LIKE MEMBER THEREBENEATH AND COMPRISING AN APERTURED PLATE ENGAGEABLE WITH THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID ROOF CONSTRUCTION AND A SECONDARY APERTURED PLATE ENGAGEABLE WITH THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID RAFTER-LIKE MEMBER, AN ELONGATED INVERTED U-SHAPED BODY MEMBER HAVING TWO ANGULARLY RELATED SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR POSITIONS THROUGH SAID APERTURED PLATES SO THAT THE LEGS THEREOF ARE POSITIONED ONE ON EACH SIDE OF SAID RAFTER-LIKE MEMBER, FASTENERS ON SAID ELONGATED U-SHAPED BODY MEMBER POSITIONED ON THE OPPOSITE OUTER SIDES OF SAID APERTURED PLATES ARRANGED TO HOLD SAID PLATES ON ONE OF SAID TWO ANGULARLY RELATED SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR PORTIONS AND AGAINST SAID RAFTER-LIKE MEMBER AND ROOF CONSTRUCTION, THE INTERCONNECTING PORTION OF SAID INVERTED U-SHAPED MEMBER AND THE OTHER OF SAID TWO ANGULARLY RELATED SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR PORTIONS OF SAID U-SHAPED BODY MEMBER BEING SPACED ABOVE SAID ROOF CONSTRUCTION AND FORMING ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR A POWER LINE OR THE LIKE ABOVE SAID ROOF CONSTRUCTION. 